Let’s be honest, most drivers will admit to getting a bit hot under the collar when faced with discourteous and plain bad driving from other road users.
However a recent survey carried out by BBC Wales found that more than 51% of motorists had been victims of road rage.
But what exactly is road rage?
Put simply, it’s any act of aggressive behaviour by a driver to another road user, whether that’s in the form of rude hand gestures, verbal insults or even deliberately driving in an unsafe manner to intimidate others.
At it’s worst, road rage can lead to serious collisions and physical assaults.
A cyclist, Matt Turner, recently filmed a road rage incident using a camera on top of his helmet. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-24731206
Whilst there isn’t an actual criminal charge of ‘road rage’, police do have powers to issue a £100 fixed penalty notices for things like tailgating which may form part of a road rage incident. There are of course more serious offences which may arise from a road rage incident such as:
- dangerous driving
- driving without due care and attention
- assault
- Public Order offences
If you are involved in a road rage incident and need our help, please get in touch 0800 9158930 or info@roadlawbarristers.co.uk
